1. Field of the Invention
This invention lies in the field of hospital instrumentation. More particularly, it lies in the field of monitoring the presence and condition of a patient in a bed. Still more particularly, it concerns the monitoring of a patient so as to provide indication of the frequency of movement of the patient, that is, when the restlessness of the patient is greater than normal. This provides a means for determining when the restlessness exceeds a selected amount.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, instruments have been provided which monitor the presence, or absence, of a patient in a bed. While this is useful information, it does not serve completely the needs of a hospital. It has been found that patients often have bed falls when they try to leave a bed, and it is important to provide indication to the nursing staff that the patient is in a restless mood and may be trying to get out of the bed. It is important to recognize this condition so as to avoid the final step of getting out of bed and falling. This instrument is designed to provide an advance indication of a possible bed fall.